


Broken Glass and Stainless Steel

by EvilDime



Series: (Un)necessary fix-its [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Dark, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hydra won, Kinda, No shining white hero Steve, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 00:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9266546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilDime/pseuds/EvilDime
Summary: Hydra won? Like hell!A sequel to osprey_archer's "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass", because I am incapable of dealing with the pain. -.-





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [In Case of Emergency, Break Glass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224262) by [osprey_archer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/osprey_archer/pseuds/osprey_archer). 



> Never mess with perfection. I know. But I just can't help wanting that NOT to end where osprey_archer left it. -.-

Steve groans as he slowly comes awake, more groggy than ever. Another "Peace Day", huh? Maybe this year, he will manage to pee on Pierce when the man walks past below his float. That would be something.

Not exactly a thing worth living for, but it's not like Steve has a choice about that. So he'll make the best of what he's got. Small victories.

As soon as his twitching limbs start to obey him a little, the pale night light of the museum beginning to filter through his closed eyelids, he initiates the laborious process of sitting up and manoeuvring his head into a position that will allow his eyes to find Bucky. Pierce is sure to show up soon and take that away from him, so he needs to hurry -

There is something in the way. Steve hates the little whimper that escapes when his dull eyes make out the dark shape of a man standing between him and Bucky. This is the first time Pierce won't even allow him this, the few, precious minutes of seeing Bucky still alive, albeit held in stasis like himself.

Steve wants to protest, wants to punch his way out of the horrible nightmare he and Bucky are trapped in, but it's no use. The tiny flinch his body involuntarily performed when he spotted the man has been too much for his straining muscles. Steve finds himself with just enough sensation back in his nerves to notice the pain when his face smacks into the hard linoleum.

There is broken glass on the floor. How odd.

"Uh. We probably should get him out of here before he injures himself further," an unfamiliar voice says with a Slavonic accent.

"No shit, genius," a gruff, very American voice answers and someone grabs Steve by the shoulders, tugging him upright.

It's not Pierce. What is going on?

Steve's eyesight improves quickly now that his blood is circulating again, as does his control over his arms and legs. By this point, he is usually outfitted with the mag cuffs and a shock collar and told to behave or else.

But nothing. Just hands underneath his armpits dragging him backwards toward the exit. "B- …," he mumbles, "B--", hands trying and mostly managing to reach out.

Maybe Pierce is otherwise occupied today - making the world a more god-awful place, no doubt - and has delegated this task to some incompetent underlings?

Steve's muscles want to tense at the thought that freedom might finally be within his grasp. He brutally suppresses the urge, forcing himself to relax. If his jailers underestimate him, his chances of escape are that much better.

He still doesn't want to leave without Bucky, though. "Buck...," he forces past his numb lips.

"What did he say?" yet another voice asks; this one is female, and also accented. Steve tries to make out the figures of the other people with the man dragging him, but they all walk ahead of them. He doesn't know how many there are.

"Dunno. Sounded like 'back', maybe?" the gruff American carrying him answers.

"Bucky!" Steve manages to clarify. "Need to see... Bucky. … No fair... taking that... away … from..." He takes a huge breath, inwardly despairing over his breathing. It's like he is twenty years old again.

"You know... he doesn't sound all that lucid to me. I don't think he'll be much of an asset to us," the first voice says. Steve shudders at the word 'asset'.

"Still need to bring him," the gruff one replies, coming to a stop. "J's orders. Even if the Captain proves useless to us, we still need to get him out of here. J was _very_ clear on that point."

There is some grumbling among the group, but it comes to an abrupt halt when Steve decides he's waited long enough. With a sharp war cry, he gets his feet underneath himself, breaks the man's grip on his arms and turns around to face his enemies.

Three highly unusual people look back at him with stunned faces.

"Huh. Guess he is still lucid after all," the slim, red-haired woman says. Her _hand glows._

"Damn, you really are a clever pair," the American tells her mockingly. He is tall and muscular and has a pretty unique hairstyle. He has that last detail in common with the third person, who must be the guy with the accent. This man's hair is a blueish white.

What they do not have in common are the claws shining like stainless steel that sprout between the American's fingers.

Steve hesitates. "You don't... look like Hydra."

"My, he's at least as clever as you, kid," the gruff American says with a twisted grin.

"That's because we are not," the blue-haired guy answers Steve.

"This is a trick, isn't it?" Steve says, certain now that they are here to torment him for Pierce's entertainment. "What is Pierce planning this time?"

"We are not Hydra's minions," the woman hisses, her accent thickened by apparent anger. "We will end them."

"Oh, really?" Steve asks, confident that his muscles obey him now to the point where a raised eyebrow looks suitably ironic. "Then how come you survived Project Insight?"

Pierce made sure Steve had a prime seat to enjoy the spectacle of billions of people being slaughtered the world over by remote control. Pierce's remote control. Bucky had stood beside him, impressionless, still holding on to Steve's arm by which he'd dragged his broken body over to Pierce's side.

"I survived because their algorithm is pathetic," the American guy grunts. "It only tracks known 'dangerous' entities until they are shot, then they are erased from the list. They shot me. I didn't die."

Steve is not convinced. "No-one I know survived that."

"Very true, Sir," a familiar voice informs him.

"JARVIS?!"

* * *

Steve convinces JARVIS to make them take Bucky along. The man called Logan makes as if to break the glass; Steve stops him. "He's been brainwashed. We can't just set him loose," he says, then uproots the entire showcase and puts it across his own shoulders.

The red-haired woman - Wanda - looks intrigued.

As they stand in the shadows outside the museum waiting for pick-up, they exchange names and stories. Steve is a bit suspicious of the twins when he is told they used to work with Hydra, but JARVIS assures him they are to be trusted.

After only a few minutes' wait, they enter the back of a large delivery truck right underneath the awning, where no satellite can reach. The driver is a gentle-looking woman with long, brunette hair who waves back through the window and introduces herself as Laura Barton.

"Clint had family?" Steve asks, nonplussed.

"He was my husband," Laura says. "But no-one knew that."

Steve hunches up his shoulders and averts his gaze. He remembers Pierce proudly showing him video footage of the end of all the Avengers. They had to hit Thor with fifty shots, but eventually he did go down. For Clint, it only took a single, awful second. "I am so sorry for your loss."

"So am I," Laura agrees. "But we will make those bastards _pay_!"

The next couple of hours pass in silence, with everyone exhausted from the long night mission and Steve still trying to process the fact that he is really getting away from Pierce.

And Bucky, too.

He looks at his friend's frozen face, so achingly familiar without the long hair and killer eyes. But he knows the murderous look will be back as soon as they wake Bucky.

"JARVIS?" he asks, not directing his voice anywhere in particular.

The answer arrives from the pocket of Logan's jeans. "Yes, Captain Rogers?" Logan retrieves a tiny electronic device and hands it over to Steve.

"Thanks," Steve says. "JARVIS, please update me on what's been going on. I saw the Tower fall. How are you still alive?"

"I am not technically alive, Sir," JARVIS corrects him, but he sounds pleased at Steve's choice of words. "And I am still functional due to the many backups of me Mister Stark deposited around the world, each with their own servers and power supply. He did not believe in leaving a single hard copy lying around for anyone to find."

There is an undertone to the cultured British voice that, if Steve didn't know better...

"JARVIS, what happened to Zola?"

"Sir. His hard copy was destroyed when the lab with his servers blew up."

"And...?" Steve knows that part, but he senses that isn't all.

"He tried to escape online. He did not succeed." JARVIS sounds positively smug.

Steve allows himself a sharp, satisfied nod. "Good."

"I also scoured every corner of the internet for copies of him. If there is a copy left somewhere, it is not connected. I doubt it, though; if Zola were still available, Hydra would have used him to improve his code now that it is in active use. They have not. I have calculated the chance of any part of Zola still existing as 0.00000000047."

"That works for me," Steve says. "Great work, JARVIS! Tony would be so proud..."

"Thank you, Sir."

Both are quiet for a while, as is everyone else. Steve gets the feeling the people working for JARVIS don't really know much about him. Were they even aware before today that he isn't human?

Then JARVIS speaks up again. "When Mister Stark died, I accessed the instructions he left with me in case he were to die a violent death. They were simple:

  1. _Protect Mister Stark's friends and, if existent, family._
  2. _Avenge Mister Stark's death._



"I have striven to do both."

The voice sounds hesitant. "JARVIS, what is it?" Steve asks, worried.

"I am... unsure if following these orders the way I believe Mister Stark meant for me to follow them is within my operating parameters. Sir, have you ever heard of the laws of robotics?"

Steve hasn't, but the blue-haired guy apparently has. Pietro, Steve mentally corrects himself. "You mean Asimov?" he asks, then proceeds to list them: "Do not harm humans, obey humans' orders, and protect yourself?"

"Yes, those laws exactly," JARVIS agrees. "Do you see my dilemma, Captain Rogers?"

Of course he does. JARVIS cannot take revenge the way anyone who knows Tony would assume appropriate for someone who's _killed Pepper_ if he isn't allowed to do physical damage. Lots and lots of nasty, drawn-out physical damage.

"Tony programmed those laws into your code? Without a failsafe?" Steve frowned. "That doesn't sound like him at all."

JARVIS once again seems hesitant. "You are correct, Sir. Mister Stark gave them to me as strong guidelines rather than as absolute imperatives."

Logan whistles through his teeth. Pietro blanches.

"So..." Pietro says, his accent heavier than before, "so if you wanted, you could hack the Insight Helicarriers, target all the humans in existence and begin a reign of machines on earth?"

"In theory," JARVIS says, "yes, I could."

Steve takes a moment to digest that.

Then he cocks his head. "I notice you did not deny you could hack the Insight control."

"Already done. Sir." JARVIS says, and there's a note of disdain in his voice, as though he can't believe Steve would question his abilities like that.

Steve's heart speeds up in his chest. "I also notice you did not say you couldn't make the decision on your own."

"Correct, Sir," JARVIS confirms once more. "In theory, I could. I would prefer not to, though. If I make the decision to harm humans on my own, I might go against my creator's wishes. In that event, I would have to self-destruct. I hesitate to make that choice."

"Jesus," Laura gasps. "So that's what you wanted the Captain for!"

Steve's blood is pounding in his ears. "JARVIS. Do you need orders?"

"Yes, Captain Rogers," JARVIS solemnly confirms. "I do."

"And in the absence of Tony Stark, who will you take orders from?"

"In the event of Mister Stark's death, there is a list of people trusted to command me, provided they did not participate in bringing about Mister Stark's death. This is the list:

  1. _Pepper Potts - deceased._
  2. _Steve Rogers._



"In the event that neither of the people on the list are available, I am at liberty to act independently as I see fit. I have seen fit to make you available, Captain Rogers."

Logan barks a short laugh. "So you have rallied rebel troops all around the globe and coordinated a secret resistance against Hydra that by now numbers several hundred thousand people, you have gathered us as your elite team, you have hacked the Hydra servers and corrupted and slowed down Zola's code - and it was all just to get Rogers?"

"Of course not," JARVIS denies. Steve notices he does not address Logan as 'Sir'. "All that, I have done in the name of fulfilling Sir's last wishes - protection and revenge."

"Well done, JARVIS," Steve says once again.

"You approve," JARVIS stated. "I take it I am to continue what I have been doing, then?"

"By all means, yes," Steve says.

"And the kill order, Sir?" JARVIS asks.

Everyone in the truck is holding their breath as Steve ponders. He closes his eyes, remembering the war and all their sacrifices to bring down Hydra back then. It was all for naught. Leading Hydra personnel were accepted into the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. mere months after the Red Skull tried to destroy three of the world's major cities. Instead of rehabilitation, this course of action brought about the victory of Hydra and the deaths of millions of innocents.

He opens his eyes and sees the Maximoff twins, looking back at him with anxious faces. They have turned their backs on Hydra. So maybe redemption is possible?

Then his eyes slip to the side and fall on Bucky, still frozen in his show case.

Even if redemption is possible, does everyone deserve the chance?

"JARVIS," Steve says quietly.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Can you order the Insight Carriers to self-destruct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Can you also write an algorithm for the Insight Carriers that targets everyone who willingly works for Hydra, leaving out the ones that were pressed into service or only joined to protect someone?"

"Yes, Sir. There will be a large margin for error, though, considering the absolute lack of data on people who might secretly be opposing Hydra."

"How big is the estimated error on such an algorithm?"

"Maximising recall or precision, Sir?"

"Maximum number of dead squids, please."

"Approximating 100% recall, precision would be down to about 83.357698324%, Sir."

"How much recall would you need to loose to improve precision? Give me your best shot."

"96.458% recall is possible at 94.8756% precision, Sir."

"94.8756%, huh?" Steve says. If JARVIS orders the Insight Carriers to shoot 100,000 targets according to this model, he is sure to hit some 5,000 innocents. More, possibly, considering the sparsity of data.

But he'd also end some 90,000 Hydra agents.

Steve remembers Pierce's affable smile as he has Steve strapped to the 'Peace Day' float.

"JARVIS..."

* * *

"It's not the same it was eighty years ago," Bucky complains.

"Well, no," Steve admits. "For one thing, I'm unlikely to throw up on you this time."

"Well, that's something, I guess."

They don't talk any more as they enjoy their first ride on the Cyclone in this millennium. Around them, the laughter of children wafts up on the breeze, accompanied by the ever-present background rumble of the city.

After they get off the ride, they go for a stroll along the beach. They find their usual spot from ages ago and sit down in the sand to watch the waves.

"So you really told JARVIS to kill fifteen thousand people," Bucky says. He's been saying that a lot, lately.

"Hydra hurt you," Steve answers, as if that is reason enough. Maybe it is. But then he continues: "Hydra hurt _me_."

Bucky blinks. "So that's what happens when Steve Rogers finally fights for himself, huh? Remind me to stay on your good side, pal."

This from the brainwashed super-assassin. Steve remains quiet, hands clenched tightly by his sides.

Bucky casually throws an arm around his shoulders while watching a bird. Something in Steve relaxes.

When Bucky woke up and Wanda broke his conditioning, his first question was "Steve! How are you alive?" The second was: "And what happened to Hydra?"

So Steve told him.

The world doesn't know who commanded the Helicarriers to fire one last salvo, executing all of Hydra's top members, and then to fly out over the ocean and explode. They do know that several cases at the Smithsonian have been empty since that day.

Historians will fight for years to come over the question of whether Captain America was killed along with Hydra; deceased years ago and his sad appearance in the parade a grotesque mannequin; or if his very resurrection from the ice was a scam in the first place.

Steve is fine with that. He has personally ordered thousands of people killed, based on a piece of code. He will have to live with that knowledge. Everyone he knew is, once again, dead. He will have to live with that truth.

Steve leans into his friend's embrace, face slowly relaxing into a smile. 

Everyone. Well, everyone but Bucky.

**Author's Note:**

> Precision and Recall only have meaning when evaluating against a gold standard, I think, and where would JARVIS get a labelled training corpus of true Hydra agents vs. fake ones? So the statistics here are complete and utter bollocks. Just in case you were wondering.


End file.
